Gender differences in education

Question 1

Stats showing differences in girls and boys achievements:

Answer 1

• 46.8% girls A-B grades at ALevel, 42.2% boys
• Larger proportion of girls achieve distinctions in vocational courses

Question 2

How does feminism impact achievement? (external)

Answer 2

• challenged stereotypes of women being solely housewifes & inferior to men
• changes in the media raised expectations (Mcrobbie) magazines containing independent women

Question 3

How do changes in the family impact achievement? (external)

Answer 3

• increase in divorce rate, dont have to rely on men
• increase in lone parent families women take on breadwinner role, new role model (need qualifications)

Question 4

How do changes in womens employment impact achievement? (external)

Answer 4

• 1970 equal pay act, illegal to pay women less than men for work of equal value
• 1975 sex discrimination act
• proportion in womens employment, 1971 53% to 67% in 2013

Question 5

How has girls changing ambitions impact achievement? (external)

Answer 5

Sharpe
-1974 girls, low aspirations, success= unfeminine, priorities: marriage, children before jobs

• 1990 girls, see their future as independent women and changed priorities
• individualisation, need a good education to be self sufficient

Question 6

How does class influence gender and achievement?

Answer 6

Reay
- Limited aspirations reflect limited job opportunities WC have available to them
Biggart
- See motherhood as the only viable option

Question 7

How do equal opportunity policies impact achievement (internal)?

Answer 7

• GIST, girls in science and technology encourage girls to pursue different careers
• Female scientists visiting schools acting as role models

Question 8

How do positive role models impact achievement (internal)?

Answer 8

• increase in female teachers and heads, act as role models, can achieve important positions
• to become a teacher, need to be educated

Question 9

How do ways of assessment favour girls?

Answer 9

Mitsos + Browne, girls more successful in coursework than boys, more organised,
- meet deadlines and bring the right materials

Question 10

How does teacher attention differ between genders?

Answer 10

• Francis, boys got more attention but disciplined harshly.
• Swann, boys dominate class discussions
• teachers respond more positively to girls

Question 11

How do curriculum stereotypes affect achievement?

Answer 11

• removing gender stereotypes in curriculum, removed barrier of achievement (Weiner)
• e.g women housewives/ mothers and frightened of science

Question 12

How do league tables favour girls?

Answer 12

• Jackson, improved opportunities for girls as they are more attractive to schools (self fulfilling prophecy)

Question 13

How do liberal and radical feminists view achievement?

Answer 13

Liberal- celebrate progress made so far, more to be made through policies

Radical- education system is still patriarchal, male dominated

Question 14

What is symbolic capital, Archer et al?

Answer 14

• Status and sense of worth obtained from others.
• feminine identities to gain this, however can’t acquire educational capital

Question 15

Explain hyper-heterosexual feminine identities:

Answer 15

• spend time and effort into desirable identities
• bring status and avoid ridicule from others
• teachers viewed as distraction from education
• denied symbolic capital, symbolic violence

Question 15

Explain how boyfriends affect achievement:

Answer 15

• in the way of schoolwork, lowered aspirations
• lose interest in uni, settle down & have children

Question 16

What is the WC girls dilemma?

Answer 16

• gaining symbolic capital from peers by hyper-heterosexual feminine identity
• or gaining educational capital by conforming to the schools ideal pupil

Question 17

Successful WC girls, Evans

Answer 17

• go to university to increase earnings and give back to family
• caring is a crucial part of girls identity
• live at home to save costs of uni, however limited options

Question 18

Boys and literacy

Answer 18

• parents spend less time reading to their sons, feminine activity (mothers do this)
• football doesn’t develop language/ communication skills unlike girls ‘bedroom culture’

Question 19

Globalisation and decline of traditional men’s jobs:

Answer 19

• decline in mining and engineering, in china, cheap
• decline in opportunities, identity crisis. Little motivation and prospects, give up trying to get qualifications
• however manual jobs still require some qualifications

Question 20

How does feminisation of education impact achievement?

Answer 20

• schools don’t nurture masculine traits,(competitiveness) celebrate feminine (attentiveness)
• Sewell, coursework causes differences

Question 21

Lack of male primary school teachers:

Answer 21

• 14% of primary school teachers are male
• 42% boys said this makes them work harder, strict discipline
• Francis, 2/3 of 7-8 years said gender of teachers doesn’t matter

Question 22

Moral panic of boys, Ringrose:

Answer 22

• policies which promote girls no longer needed
• underachieving boys will be unemployable, threatening social stability
• girls disengagement is more quiet than boys who attract attention

Question 22

Laddish subcultures, Epstein:

Answer 22

• WC boys harassed and labelled sissies/gay, verbal abuse if they are ‘swots’
• Schoolwork is seen as inferior to tough manual work.

Question 23

What subjects do girls and boys choose, A levels/ courses

Answer 23

• Boys choosing maths and physics- (20% girls)
• girls choosing sociology and english
• is GIST effective?
• 1/100 childcare apprentices are boys

Question 24

How do gender subject images affect choice?

Answer 24

Kelly
- science, boys: teachers are men, examples on boys interests

Colley
- working with machines, teaching style off putting to females

Leonard
- single sex schools hold less stereotypes. In girls schools, girls more likely to take maths, boys in boys schools, english

Question 24

How does gender role socialisation explain subject choice, Bryne

Answer 24

• teachers encourage boys to be tough. girls to be quiet, tidy
• Brown & Ross, children’s beliefs about gender domains shaped from early experiences
• tasks & activities e.g boys playing cars, girls being maternal

Question 25

How does peer pressure and career opportunities affect subject choice?

Answer 25

Paechter- pressure
- girls view sport as in the male domain, cope with an image contradicting conventional stereotype

• career opportunities, women have a narrow range of opportunities: childcare + nursing roles. impacting choice

Question 26

How do double standards and male peer groups impact gender identity?

Answer 26

Lees
- Boys boast about sexual behaviour but call girls ‘slags’ if she is presumed available

• devalues women through negative labels

Willis
- anti-school boys accuse boys who want to succeed as gay
- success ‘without trying’

Question 27

How does verbal abuse and the male gaze affect identity? (Parker)

Answer 27

• boys labelled gay for being friendly with girls or female teachers
• Mac an Ghaill, male gaze, look at girls as sexual objects. prove their masculinity

Question 28

How do female peer groups affect identity?

Answer 28

Ringrose
- WC girls, popularity was a part of their identity

• idealised feminine identity= loyalty to female peer group
• sexualised identity= competing for boys in dating culture

Currie et al
- girls who compete, slut shamed
- girls who don’t compete, frigid

Question 29

How do teachers and discipline reinforce gender identity?

Answer 29

• Mac an Ghaill, told boys off for behaving ‘like girls’
• teased when getting lower test marks than girls